


a tale of two reveals

by koalavirtue



Series: what tomorrow brings [6]
Category: Figure Skating RPF, Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-12
Updated: 2021-01-12
Packaged: 2021-03-17 05:00:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28719279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/koalavirtue/pseuds/koalavirtue
Summary: Going public isn't something Tessa or Morgan have much experience with but they love each other enough to give it a go.
Relationships: Morgan Rielly/Tessa Virtue
Series: what tomorrow brings [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1679134
Comments: 9
Kudos: 53





	a tale of two reveals

**Thursday, January 9th 2020**

It’s only when Tessa steps off the elevator do the nerves that she’s been keeping at bay start to make an appearance.

Her day so far has been pretty relaxed, spending most of the morning with Jordan after kissing Morgan goodbye as the sun filtered through the window onto his sleepy face. They had their girls day tradition of brunch followed by a shopping spree where her sister teased her relentlessly about her blossoming relationship and her new love-struck take on life. She wasn’t particularly fussed about it until Jordan tagged along with her to the hair salon where Kelly and Sheri, who were helping her get glammed up for tonight, decided it would be amusing to join in with her sisters antics. She’s never wanted to melt more into a chair in her life.

She still loves them though, despite their teasing. Her friends are more than supportive and she’s truly grateful for that. And for their help, especially tonight. Tessa is more than used to getting ready for galas and events, having attended more than she can count but she’s aware of just how different this is. She’s not there to support a foundation or fulfil a sponsorship requirement or even to party with fellow skaters following a competition. 

She’s going to be there for Morgan.

He’d asked her if she’d be his date to the gala a few weeks ago to which she immediately agreed but as she walks down the hall to his apartment, she feels overwhelmed by the realisation of how serious a step this is in their relationship. Morgan swings open the door with a smile on his face, dressed in navy pants and a crisp white shirt that only has a few of the buttons done up, distracting Tessa from her anxious thoughts.

She stands in the hall staring at his bare chest for a second before he clears his throat. “Are you going to come in?” he asks, his smile turning into a cheeky grin. 

Tessa blushes a deep red and steps through the doorway, giving him a kiss as she does so and relaxing a little when he helps slip off her coat to hang by the door. “Sorry, I’m late. I just have to get my dress on then we’ll be good to go.” 

“It’s ok, we’ve still got some time. Besides I’m not exactly planning on stepping out of the apartment like this.” he explains, motioning to his current state of undress.

“Shame.” Tessa mutters heading off towards the bedroom.

“What was that?”

“Nothing.” she sings. “Is my dress still in your cupboard?”

Morgan just shakes his head at her poor attempt of changing the subject and responds with a shout, “It’s lying on the bed, I pulled it out for you.”

Tessa slips on her emerald green gown, careful not to mess up her high pony still feeling those nerves lingering in her stomach although a little less anxious now that’s she’s seen Morgan. She goes to unbox her shoes when she hears a knock followed by a voice coming through the crack in the door. “Can I come in?”

She spins around to see Morgan, who looks a lot like she did earlier in the hall, a warm blush spreading across his cheeks as he leans against the doorframe. His eyes trace up from the shoes in her hand, towards the open v of her dress and finally to her face. “Wow. You look beautiful, Tess.” 

“You’re not too bad yourself.” she says, taking in his outfit for the evening. He’s buttoned up his shirt (thankfully, Tessa’s not sure she’d be able to stop herself from taking advantage of how good he looks walking around with his chest on display if she’s entirely honest) and put on a pair of dress shoes that compliment the colour of his suit. 

“Very kind of you, ma’am.” he grins, pretending to flick his hair back. “But I’m a taken man.”

“That’s a shame. I kinda need someone to help zip me up.” She gestures to the back of her dress.

Morgan smirks and makes his way across the room. “Well I do think my girlfriend might be able to make an exception in this case.” he says, moving behind her and resting one of his hands on her waist while the other takes hold of the zipper, his finger skimming the bare skin at the base of her spine. She feels a shiver run through her body at his touch and slips her eyes closed as his hand moves upwards, taking his time, careful not to catch her skin or a piece of hair as he does up her dress.

Her eyes slip close for a moment as she focuses on the sensation of his fingers running up the back of her neck, ever so gentle and soft. Tessa leans her head against his shoulder as his left arm wraps around her body, pulling her back flush against his front. He uses his other hand to lift her hair out of the way so he can place kisses along the open expanse of her neck. She can feel him smiling against her skin, making her stomach flutter as his lips reach her pulse point. He sucks, hard, and her knees almost buckle.

“Love.” she moans. They’re already late and she knows she that _this_ is not helping matters, but the way he’s holding her and the heat pooling in her stomach is making it very hard to stop.

Morgan moves his hand back down, past her waist and towards her leg, toying with the slit of her dress and her breath catches in her throat. She’s about to throw caution to the wind and ask him to hitch up her dress when Morgan’s phone buzzes in his front pocket. “Shit.” he mumbles, stepping back and checking the message.

“It’s Mitchy, he’s just letting me know that he and Steph are already on their way there.”

Tessa nods and clears her throat, fixing her dress in the mirror and making sure she looks presentable. 

He rests his chin on her shoulder and wraps his arms around her front. “God, you look hot.” he says, his voice deep and rough. She giggles and smiles at him in thanks, turning round to give him a kiss for good measure.

They hold each other tightly and sway where they stand, a soft quietness enveloping the room and both of them in turn. “Do you think we could just stay like this?” Tessa whispers after a beat. “I don’t think anyone will actually miss us if we don’t show up.”

“You know I would much rather stay here but if we don’t show up everyone is going to think I made up that fact that Tessa Virtue is my girlfriend.” he chuckles.

“Yeah.” She moves away ever so slightly and the butterflies from earlier start making a reappearance. “I guess so.”

Morgan notices her unenthusiastic response immediately. “Tess?” he asks, tilting her chin up, forcing her to look at him. “What’s wrong?”

She stays quiet.

“Do you not want to go?”

“No!” she exclaims, shaking her head to emphasise her point. “I’m excited. Really. I just want it to go well.”

“It’ll be fine. You’re probably going to be the most decorated athlete in there. I guarantee you’ll be much more popular than me.”

Tessa shrugs, still somewhat unconvinced. “I’m not going as an athlete though, I’m there as your girlfriend.”

He rubs his hand across her lower back in an attempt to calm her nerves as he says, “Sure, but you’re still you. You’re kind and smart and beautiful and every single person in that room is going to love you if they don’t already.” 

It’s something he learned was helpful for the first time right before he met Tessa’s family at Christmas as they sat in the car outside her brothers house. She was quiet on the whole drive over until he parked up and went to open the door. It was only then she stopped him, took his hand in hers and admitted that as much as she loves her family they can be very protective and she wasn’t exactly sure how they were going to react to her bringing a boy home for the first time in years. It turns out they were probably happier to see Morgan than Tessa: her brothers delighted with her choice of boyfriend (go Leafs and all that) and her mom excited to meet the man who had made her daughter so happy.

“And if they don’t love you that sounds like a them problem.” he continues. “I know this is different for us but I’m gonna be right by your side the whole time. I don’t want you to ever feel like this is too much so just say the word and we’ll leave whenever you want, alright?”

“Promise?”

“Always, Tess.” He pulls her in, trying to convey all the love that he feels in another hug and lets her relax in the safety of his arms. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“You’re very good at this whole supportive boyfriend role by the way.” she exhales, grateful to be able to talk about these things with him.

“Duly noted, I’ll add it to the special skills section on my resume. Just don’t tell my girlfriend about this will ya.” he mock whispers as Tessa grabs her shoes from the bed, almost ready to go.

She slips on her heels and grabs her purse, feeling much better about the night and looking forward to meeting more of Morgan’s friends. “If I keep your secret, what’s in it for me exactly?”

“Well…” Morgan says, he grabs his jacket which is folded neatly over the barstool and drapes it across his arm, before offering his other arm to Tessa. “Have I told you how hot you look?” 

“You’ve mentioned it once or twice.” she giggles, linking her arm in his.

“Beautiful. Exquisite. Never been done before type of hot.”

“Keep the compliments coming tonight and I might just keep your secret.”

He locks the apartment door behind him and they make their way down the hall. “In that case, you look ten out of ten. In fact, words cannot espresso how good you look. You’re brew-tiful. You—“

“Oh my god, am I going to get puns all night?” she asks excitedly as they step inside the elevator.

“I’ve been working on some of these for weeks now. Want to hear some more?”

“Yes!” she says, bouncing on the soles of her feet and laughing, forgetting all about her earlier nerves as he tells her how ‘radishing’ she looks in the colour green.

**Monday, February** **24th 2020**

“Tess, I’m pretty sure my legs are like only 20% working right now.” Morgan groans coming out of the bathroom. With a towel wrapped around his waist and hair still damp from his shower, he shuffles towards the dresser as Tessa lounges on the bed, her phone in hand. “Making dinner sounds like something neither of us is equipped to handle.”

He’d taken part in morning practice earlier in that day, his first since breaking his foot over a month ago, and despite the initial excitement of being back on the ice his body is letting him know just how much time he missed.

“Ok, I see how it is old man.” 

He turns his head and smirks at her. “You sure you wanna go there?” Morgan asks picking up his dirty socks from the floor and tossing them between his hands.

“You even think about throwing them over here and that new surprise gift I bought last week will never see the light of day.” she says, knowing full well that deep red lingerie set she picked out for his upcoming birthday will definitely be put to good use. 

“Ok, ok, ok.” He quickly surrenders and goes back to digging through the drawer in search of clothes.

“Good. Chinese or Thai then?” Tessa asks, very much enjoying the view of his sculpted back and shoulders from where she flanked by pillows on either side of her.

“You decide.” He gets dressed into a pair of old sweatpants and Nike hoodie as Tessa goes back to scrolling on her phone, ordering, or so he assumes, takeout for the night. He flops down on the bed beside her, after turning off the bathroom light and closing the window, grateful to be falling onto a soft mattress and not the frozen ice of the rink.

Tessa bounces a little at the impact, her smaller body lifting off the bed causing a soft giggle to escape. She snuggles closer to Morgan who drops a kiss on her forehead and nuzzles into her neck and quickly distracts her from the task at hand when he notices her screen. “What’s that?” 

“Hmm?”

“That.” he says, pointing to her screen. “Doesn’t look like any takeout menu I’ve ever seen.”

Tessa stays concentrated on her phone. “Cause it’s not.” 

“Okaaay? Maybe I _am_ an old man and _do_ have bad hearing but I thought you were ordering dinner.”

“I’m getting to it. I have to comment on your new Instagram post first.” she responds casually as if that’s a regular occurrence. He had posted a picture of himself in a new RW&Co suit that was part of their new campaign before hopping into the shower earlier but basically forgetting about it as soon as the water hit his aching shoulders. He has absolutely no idea why Tessa is paying that much attention to it, let alone planning on commenting.

“Did I miss something?”

“Nope.” She flashes a smirk at him and hands him her phone, showing a heart eyes emoji ready to be posted to his comments section. “What do you think?”

“I think I’m very confused. You do realise everyone is going to see this right?” 

“I know. But you look cute, and people are going to find out sooner or later. I didn’t really think this was a big deal.”

He looks at her surprised. “Well it kinda is, Tess.” he says with a hint of exasperation in his tone.

“Wow.” she whispers, taken somewhat aback by his reaction. “Good to know.” 

She plucks her phone from his grasp and goes to delete the message. She _has_ only technically been following him for a handful of weeks now and most of the general public don't know about their relationship yet but he looks good and she thought she might get away with commenting on this specific post being a fellow ambassador herself. 

She reopens the app just as Morgan pokes her in the side and asks jokingly. “Are we fighting?” He didn’t expect this to turn sour so fast. He just wanted to make sure Tessa was ready for this next step.

“No!”

Tessa refuses to look up from the screen. 

They’re not fighting cause there’s nothing to fight about she thinks. Apparently he doesn’t want her to post so she’s not going to and despite her defensive tone, she’s more disappointed that they’re not on the same page that angry at him.

“You sure cause it sure feels like one.”

“Yes, I’m sure. We,” she says, pointing back and forth between them. “are not fighting.”

“So if we’re not fighting,” Morgan teases, trying to lighten the mood a little.“does that mean there’s also no chance of us having makeup sex? Cause if that’s the case we can fight over something else. How about that sock debacle from last week or we can…” He is too busy listing off potential opportunities to get Tessa riled up to stop the pillow that whacks him straight in the chest. 

He sits still for a second then falls back dramatically, hand on his heart, clutching his chest. “Owww! he exclaims as he flails around. “I’ve been wounded!”

Tessa purses her lips together in an effort not to laugh as her giant hockey player of a boyfriend cries out in pain, far too dramatically in her opinion, from the soft whack of a pillow. She knows he’s messing around but the urge to cuddle in close to him right now is a lot, especially given the fact that he just got over his broken foot.

“I can’t believe you blindsided me like that. And to injure me so viciously with a pillow of all things, pretty sure an attack like that would get you serious prison time in a court of law.” he moans, his lower lip jutting out in an effort to gain more sympathy.

“Well, I’m pretty sure injured people don’t flop around like fish.” Tessa deadpans from beside him. She might feel a little sorry for him but she’s still not going to let him know that, at least not so easily.

He sits up and turns to her. “How would you know?” 

“I know things.”

“So you know how to make it better then?” he pouts.

God, she wants to kiss that dumb look off his face.

“Maybe.” 

“Tessaaaa.” he sings.

“Morgan.”

He bats his eyelashes.

“Pretty please.” he says, shuffling closer towards her and offering her his hand. “Help a wounded guy out.” 

Tessa can’t help but laugh and places the phone on the nightstand, taking hold of his outstretched hand and ending up in his lap with his hands around her waist. She rests her hand over his chest directly over the spot when the pillow hit and runs her fingers over his shirt taking great care, trying to be as serious as possible all while suppressing her giggles. “Does this hurt?”

He nods sadly.

“Mmm. Looks rough, you might need to see a doctor for this. I don’t know if I’m fully qualified for the job.”

“Oh, it’s ok. I’m pretty sure the standard course of treatment should work fine.” he explains.

“And that is?”

Morgan smiles at her and pulls her in closer. “Kisses.”

“Really? Do you know someone who could help you out with that or…” Tessa asks, looking around the room for another person. She even goes as far to check under the covers, popping her head inside and hearing his peals of laughter when she lets him know she doesn’t see anyone of use.

“Guess it’ll have to be you then, huh.” he offers as she pulls her head out from under the duvet.

“Hmmm.” she ponders his suggestion for a moment then decides to take pity on him, settling comfortably back into her position on his lap. “I guess so.”

She captures his lips in a soft kiss, wrapping her arms round his neck and melting into his chest, feeling his smile against her own as she does so. Morgan trails his hands down her back, his sense of touch on Tessa’s skin overriding every part of her body and almost making both of them forget about the previous conversation. It’s only when his fingers caress the exposed skin of her hip does she snap out of her haze and breaks away with a deep, loving kiss.

Tessa opens her eyes to see Morgan staring right back at her, warmth and love etched across his features and a dopey grin plastered on his face. She mirrors his expression and they sit quietly for a second, a pair of love-struck idiots before Morgan breaks the silence. “I didn’t mean to sound like a dick. Before I mean.”

“Is there a reason you don’t want me to?” she responds softly and notices how he now seems visibly upset at the question. She feels a little bad over the fact that all of this has become a _thing_. She doesn’t want this to be a sticking point in their relationship but she thought she know where they both stood when it came to what they choose to share with the outside world and what remains for them.

He shakes his head and brings his hands up to cradle her face. “No. Tess, I love you and—”

“I love you too.” she interrupts before he can continue. “Sorry go on.”

“You’re such a dork.” he says, resting his forehead against hers and kissing her nose. “I just want you to be sure. This is a big step and once we do this there’s not much going back.”

“I figured it was just like ripping off a band-aid. Best to just get it done and go from there.”

“A band-aid?!?!”

“A very handsome and amazingly wonderful band-aid,” she emphasises, giving him another kiss. “People are already clicking on and I just want to make sure we’re the ones in control here, I guess that’s what I was going for.”

Morgan smiles.

“Love, if people know that you’re my girlfriend that’s great and if they don’t that’s fine too. None of that matters to me, but I don’t want you to do something this big just because you feel like you have to.” he says, giving her shoulder a soft squeeze.

She breathes a little easier knowing that he _is_ fine with this and that they are in fact on the same wavelength. There’s still that part of her that worries how this will invite speculation from a lot more people, worries about the opinions of others, about what they’ll think of her dating a hockey player who is five years her junior, of her being with someone who isn’t Scott. In the past that part of her brain would have prevented her from ever doing this, it would have decided that this is an awful idea and she should forget about commenting and just put her phone away.

But this time it feels different and she could very well regret this in the morning but sitting here with her boyfriend, she finds she doesn’t care about the outside noise. She wants people to know that she’s with Morgan, that she’s never felt like this for anybody and especially for them to how much she likes him in a well-fitted suit.

“I hear you, but I’m sure about this. I want to do it because I love you, but also it is my job to be a good Instagram girlfriend and comment on my boyfriend's hot posts.”

Morgan laughs and pulls away but only slightly, still holding her body close to his. “I appreciate that, love.”

“Good.” she eases out of his grasp and reaches for her phone, now fully on board with this plan. “So the heart-eyes emoji or the squirting water one, both sum up my feeling pretty well.” she says, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

“Oh my god.” Morgan rolls his eyes affectionately. “You realise I’m gonna tell Jordan you just said that, right?”

“Haha very funny.”

“Oh I’m serious.” he says standing with a smirk heading towards the kitchen in search of takeout menus (and his phone).

“Wait...” _Oh shit._ Tessa scampers off the bed and races after him. “Baby...love of my life. Morgan!!!”

**Author's Note:**

> This took me forever to get finished and idk if I turned out exactly how I wanted it 😅😅 but thank you to the lovely anon who sent me this idea, I’m sorry it took so long but I hope you liked it!! 🥰


End file.
